Q: My ex-husband and I divorced seven years ago. He signed over the house as a deed of gift and put title into my name. Both of our names are still on the mortgage.
My ex-husband keep pressuring me to refinance the loan, I’m not financially able to do that and I don’t want to sell the house. My payments are all current, so I’m not ruining his credit. It’s just that my credit is not that good due to bills leftover from the divorce.
Can he make me refinance?
A: Did your divorce decree require you to refinance the property and then remove your ex-husband’s name from the mortgage? Was there a time limit in which you needed to refinance the property? If the divorce decree had those requirements, and you have not satisfied the decree, then you may be violating the terms of your divorce settlement, and your ex-spouse could chase you back into court.
However, if the terms of your divorce decree did not require you to refinance the mortgage and remove your ex-husband’s name the loan, then I don’t see how your ex-spouse can make you refinance – especially if you’re unable to because of lingering credit issues.
Try to look at it from your ex-spouse’s point of view: His debt-to-income ratio is all tied up with a house he no longer owns nor has any rights to. His credit history and score depend on whether you make the payments on time. He doesn’t want to be tied to you, and the two of you were divorced seven years ago.
Seven years ago, he got some incredibly bad advice. I would never tell an owner to sign over title to a property if his name was still on the mortgage.
You should look into an FHA refinance, and if you qualify you should move forward. You should be able to refinance the loan as long as you have some equity and your credit is above 620. If you don’t know what your credit history and score are, please go to AnnualCreditReport.com and pull a free copy of your credit history and then pay around $9 to buy a copy of your credit score from Equifax, which uses a score that closely mirrors the FICO score most lenders use.
For more details, please seek the advice of a local attorney.
Q: My ex-husband and I divorced in Aug 2011 and became final this month (Feb 2012), the divorce decree states that the main residence is awarded to me so he wants me to transfer my name on the loan and take his name out, he has not signed any quit claim deed yet. The problem is I do not have job, I am on disability (so my only income is the disability check, part of his retirement and spousal support, of which he is not giving me 100% but that’s another issue) and my credit is not that good anymore. I am not living in the property, he is along with our two adult children. He said he was going to give me rent money of which I have not seen, I guess to help me defray the cost of mortgage. I haven’t called the lender but from what I know, the lender will not entertain me because I am not on the loan. Any advice on how to proceed with this?
Beware. My sister had a similar situation. Her ex died of cancer 7 years later. The divorce settlement required all of this. A quit claim deed had been filed. He could not refinance due to credit. Now she (according to several attorneys) is liable for the money on his house which puts hers in jeopardy too. She does not make much money. It is out and out theft, but legal. She may end up bankrupt and loose both houses. If you are getting a divorce, insist on selling the house, paying off the mortgage, and splitting the difference. It just isn’t worth it.